6600k overclocking help

I am new to the whole overclocking thing, so i need some help with these questions:
What settings should i change in the bios?
There is a setting for: Cpu ratio, ring ratio and base clock, i've heard that you should change base clock and not cpu ratio, is this true?
How do i know if i overclocked my cpu too much?
I know you have to monitor temperature, but is there anything else?
I tried overclocking the cpu to 4,5 ghz by changing cpu ratio and then stress testing it with cpu-z, all other programs froze, but cpu-z kept running, is this normal or it that because i overclocked it too much?
Power should not be a problem the cpu is running on its own 12v rail with 35a.
Do you have any suggestions for a good temp monitoring program?
Full pc specs:
Psu:
Antec vp700p
Cpu:
Intel 6600k
Mobo:
Msi z170 a pro
Gpu:
Msi gaming x 1080 ti
Ram:
16gb 2400mhz
Cpu cooler:
noctua nh-d15
Storage:
Samsung Evo 960 M.2 512gb
 
Run Prime95 torture test and see if your PC crashes. For a shortcut once you get close to stable, take note of the FFT that was running when your PC crashed, and test just that one until you get it stable.

I use Open Hardware Monitor to monitor temps, as it it gives me both IHS (TCase) temps and core (TJunction) temps.
 
rather use OCCT... Atleast thats what I used to overclock my 6600K... Its been rock stable at 4.5 ghz, which easily should achieved

It shows max temp, and realtime temps when stresstesting cpu. If it remains running for an hour or so it should be more than stable for gaming.
Remember to turn of the screen saver though and just switch off the screen while you wait.

You can monitor CPU temps using MSI aferburner, which you really should be using if you got a msi card :)
 
you want to change core ratio. you dont need to touch anything else at first. eventually youll have to bump up the voltage.

basically, this is what you want to do. set everything to default in the bios. then turn on the sync all cores option and bump the core ratio to 4ghz. run a stress test... i recommend occt. it will cause higher temps than some tests and tests that result in a stable overclock will fail occt, but thats why i like it... it will give you worse case scenario temps and legit stability. anyway, after bumping the core ratio to 4ghz run the test for 15 mins and keep an eye on temps and max voltage while under load. it should pass 4ghz with no problem. then bump it to 4.1 and run the test again. if it passes, bump it to 4.2, and run it again. if it fails add .025 to the core voltage and run the test. if it fails again, add another .025. and you simply continue to do this, bumping the core ratio and adding a little voltage at a time as necessary until either temps and/or voltage gets to high. once you settle on a overclock that passed 15mins, run the test for at least an hour, adjusting as needed to get it to pass.

personally my 6600k was running at 4.4 and 1.3-1.31v. i wouldnt want to go much over 1.3 for daily use and longevity, though some people will say 1.35 is fine. but honestly if you can get to around 4.4 and 1.3v anything more is really just bragging right, you wont see any performance increase.
 

Thank you for the quick answer, i think the msi bios sets the voltage itself if i just set it to auto... Can this be true? And should i manually set the voltage instead of letting the bios do it for me?
 


it would run cooler if you manually set the voltage...
 


youre better off setting the voltage manually. auto voltage tends to pump a lot more voltage into the chip than necessary. but you can try auto and see what voltage it uses, sometimes the auto settings will do an alright job, sometimes not.